India, July 29 -- Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday revealed that the Modi government is coercing automobile manufacturers into remaining silent on the impact of E20 petrol on vehicles manufactured before 2023. Citing discussions with officials from nine automobile companies, he revealed they had acknowledged that E20 could damage nearly 30 crore older vehicles and reduce fuel efficiency, but were unwilling to state this publicly due to pressure from the Centre. Questioning the government's ethanol policy, the AAP chief asked why E20-blended petrol was being forced on consumers despite offering lower mileage, costing more than petrol, providing no foreign exchange savings and delivering no benefit to farmers.
Addressing a press conference, the AAP chief said, "The govt has resorted to outright 'gundagardi' (goondaism) to force E20 petrol on the public. A few days ago, I wrote to 29 companies that manufacture petrol powered two wheelers and four wheelers in our country. In my letter, I asked them to clearly state whether E20 petrol can be used in vehicles manufactured before 2023." He continued, "I also asked that if these companies say it can be used, whether they would compensate consumers if their vehicles are damaged or if fuel efficiency declines. None of the 29 companies responded in writing, but I had detailed phone conversations with officials from nine of them."
Sharing what company officials told him, Arvind Kejriwal stated, "Officials from these nine companies personally told me that the govt is openly threatening them. The technical and engineering reality is that if E20 is used in vehicles manufactured before 2023, it will damage the vehicle, its engine and the fuel train system, and fuel efficiency will also decline." He added, "The Central govt has warned these companies that if they say this publicly, they will face consequences. Their plants will be shut down, and they will face raids by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the Income Tax Department and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and their companies could be shut down. That is why they cannot put this in writing."
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.